Brambleton, VA (September 28, 2022) - The Heritage Pride are one of a cluster of Dulles District teams battling to get into the top half of the Dulles District field hockey standings. That will get sorted out in their upcoming matches involving Dominion and Broad Run, but on this night they would host the Rock Ridge Phoenix, a team struggling in the standings, yet still bringing a competitive spirit to every match.
Chas Sumser Photography was there to capture the action and emotion and posted a gallery of images from the game.
To their credit, the Phoenix played a solid opening quarter on defense. Despite intense pressure from the Pride, they gave up only two scores in front of goalie Nuha Najmuddin. The Heritage goals came from Katharine Hughes and Kendall Cross with Hughes--the clear leader of the Pride attack--gaining multiple attempts on the Rock Ridge net.
The margin continued to increase in the second period as the Heritage offense generated goals in succession from Olivia Hines, Izzy Rogers, and Emma Beal. The Pride could have had more, but the Phoenix defense continued to stay compact and organized, holding the halftime score to 5-0.
After giving up an early third period goal to Hughes, Rock Ridge mounted their best attack of the night as team leader Nafisa Uthman pushed her team forward. The Phoenix made a concerted effort to score--pulling everyone up--but they lost possession, and that led directly to a second Pride goal from Beal.
By the end of the quarter, Heritage had extended the lead to nine goals, a margin large enough to force the end of the game without the need for a fourth period. An impressive win for the Pride, and a necessary one as postseason positions begin to clarify.
Final Score: Heritage 9 - Rock Ridge 0
